KlosevsKröteTell them apart

Quick tell: Klose is a name, Kröte is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Klose” is a name and “Kröte” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#25,200
“Klose” frequency rank
#33,158
“Kröte” frequency rank
58358
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Klose Kröte
Definition deutscher Nachname dem Frosch ähnliche, kurzbeinige, springende Amphibie mit plumpem Körper und warzenbedeckter, Giftstoffe absondernder Haut

Where the eye mixes Klose and Kröte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. Klose and Kröte follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

5 ch
Klose
5 ch
Kröte

Why the eye confuses Klose with Kröte

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Klose is [ˈkloːzə] while Kröte is [ˈkʁøːtə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (name vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58358, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Klose is recorded at frequency rank #25,200, classified as aname, pronounced [ˈkloːzə]. Kröte is at rank #33,158, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkʁøːtə].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 58358, this pair ranks #865,880 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Klose vs Kröte

Shared letters: ek. Private to "Klose": los. Private to "Kröte": rtö.

"Klose" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "Kröte" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Klosekklose · kllose · kloes · klosse · klsoe · kolse · lkose

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Klose" and "Kröte" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Klose" is a name and "Kröte" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "Klose" vs "Kröte" - which ranks higher?
"Klose" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,200 in our German list, against #33,158 for "Kröte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Klose" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Kröte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #865,880 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Klose" and "Kröte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "krönt vs Kröte". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #865,880 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list